


A Lifetime Story

by Raph_Hammaren



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Abuse, Additional Warnings Apply, Alternate Universe, Angst, Bullying, Fluff, Growing Up, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lemon, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Minor Character Death, Slice of Life, Smut, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 14:37:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9824864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raph_Hammaren/pseuds/Raph_Hammaren
Summary: Eren Jeager and Armin Arlert casually met, after the blond boy moved to a new city. They grow up as friends, discovering together what they want for their lives.





	

Eren was coming home, when he saw it. The blond boy of that morning – the new student he had seen at his school and he had been hypnotized by – was there, in the middle of the alley he was walking in, alone. He couldn’t see the other’s face, but he knew he was being right. It was him. The same boy. The same coconut haircut – why did they call it “coconut”? It was so stupid and unrelated. The same weird clothes, his thin body.  
Eren came closer the curled-up body and smiled, murmuring an embarrassed “hi”.  
The blond boy upped his head, slowly – big blue eyes filled in sadness and pain, the sclerotic slightly red, as he was caught while crying.  
“Who the hell are you?” he asked. He was afraid, there was no need to be a genius, to notice it. Eren was surprised to the way that boy was facing him, despite his feelings. He must have been a brave boy.  
Eren could barely stand eye contact with him, but held on, smiling. “I’m no one in particular,” he explained – smirked, as he noticed he had the full attention of the other boy. “I noticed you at school, this morning.”  
“If you’re going to beat me up, just hurry up. I’ll have to come home, after that, and I don’t want to be late,” the blond murmured, shamefully. His cheeks wetted by new tears, now, but his eyes were still strongly focused on the brunet boy.  
“I’m not going to,” the other told him, sincerely. “Why should I?”  
The blond boy widened his eyes in surprise, but it was only for a few seconds, before he had turned again in sadness. “Everyone does,” he said. His little hands wiped away his own tears, slowly.  
“I’m not so idiot,” the brunet protested, stupidly.  
“If you’re not going to harm me, then, I’ll just go home. Unless you have something to say,” the blond boy murmured. He wasn’t being rude, nor acting angrily. He just seemed tired and sad.  
Eren watched as the little boy stood up, slowly. He made a painful face and whined. The brunet offered him a hand, but it was refused.  
“Did you hurt in some way?” he tried to ask, then.  
“It’s nothing. I’ll just go home,” the blond answered, with fast words.  
“I’ll walk you, then,” the brunet decided, trying to encourage the blond boy with a smile.  
“There’s no need to,” he refused, anyway.  
“Why are you like this? I’m trying to help you,” Eren almost yelled, but regretted it immediately, as those big blue eyes were filled with tears again.  
“Can you… can you tell me what do you want from me, exactly? I’m uncomfortable, with this,” the blond boy cried out.  
Eren sighed, looking at him and feeling guilty. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I just… noticed you at school and got captured by you. I didn’t talk to you, because I’ve never liked anyone and never wanted to befriend someone, but then I saw you again and thought it was good to say hi.” The way he was being totally sincere scared him, as he felt like there was no way to escape from that gaze.  
The blond boy, in answer, wiped his tears again and smiled shyly. “I’m sorry for how I talked to you. I don’t know why I’m even trusting you now, as it’s not a thing I’m used to do. No one ever said ‘hi’ to me, before, so I acted as always, defending myself,” the blond boy apologized, with a low voice.  
Eren smiled at him. “Can I know your name?” he asked.  
“Armin,” the blond boy whispered. “My name is Armin.”  
As Armin was smiling back, the brunet boy spoke again. “It’s a cute name.”  
“May I know yours?” the blond asked, shyly.  
“Oh, you’re right. I’m Eren.” He paused for some time, before speaking again. “Listen, Armin. I never befriended someone – have I already told it? –, so, I don’t know how it works, but. Would you like to be my friend?”  
Those bright blue eyes widened in what Eren could recognize as happiness and pure surprise. It was really beautiful, how they could express exactly how the blond boy was feeling. The blond boy opened his mouth, but he closed it, as he didn’t find any words to answer. He just nodded, a bright smile on his face and a little blush on his cheeks, to make him even more interesting.  
“Can I walk you home, now?” the brunet asked, gently.  
“If you want to…” Armin answered, moving a step.  
His face became painfully, immediately, as he bit his lips to contain the feeling of weakness.  
“Armin?” the brunet called him, as his hands quickly moved to the blond’s thin hips to avoid him falling to the ground.  
“Thank you,” the tiny boy whispered, biting his bottom lip once again.  
It seemed like he couldn’t stand the pain anymore, as he started crying once again, silently.  
The brunet boy looked at him and softly placed a hand on the blond’s shoulder. “Are you hurting that bad? Do you need a doctor?” he asked.  
“No…” the other whispered, his gaze focused on something Eren couldn’t find. “It’s not worse than I’m used to. I… just have been hit by a memory.”  
“A… memory?”  
“Can we not talk about it?” Though that question looked like an innocent request, Eren could feel an undertone of begging, into those words. Inside those big blue eyes, he was learning to read.  
He just answered with a solemn nod of his head, before really taking that boy home, silently, leaving him the space he needed.  
For all that walk, the blond boy had held tightly his hand. He had told Eren, he didn’t know how to behave with friends, neither. He just felt trustful and did it.  
“Eren, I live here,” he murmured, breaking that calmly silence.  
“Oh, okay. Hey, I live in that house you see there, at the end of the street. If you need me, Armin, come and find me there. Okay?” the brunet offered, as he was hiding his willing to stay for some other time with his new friend.  
“Do you… want to come in?” Armin asked, shyly. “I can talk you about that memory, if you’d like me to. I feel like I can do it.”  
“Of course I want to.”  
The blond boy smiled, as his hand quickly unlocked the front door. “Do you want to drink something?”  
“No, not really. Thank you,” the brunet assured him, sitting in the big white couch.  
The blond boy took a seat next to him.  
“It was… two years ago,” he murmured, and Eren could barely hear him. “My mother used to understand quickly, when someone beat me up on the way home. She was always so kind to me. She usually took care of my wounds and then took me to a library. You know, I really love read – about a stupid hobby, for a nine years old boy, but I just… love to get into other’s secret worlds so… I read. That’s it.”  
Eren smiled at him, and his hand went to caress that blond head, without permission. “Why did she stop, then?” he asked, hiding his embarrassment for that gesture.  
“She didn’t stop. She died. That’s why I miss those things so much,” he admitted. He didn’t cry, then, but Eren knew he was at his limit.  
“Hey, Armin,” he murmured, caressing his head again, as it felt good for them both.  
“What?”  
“Will you give me permission to do it?” Eren asked, his fingers still through soft blond locks.  
“Would you really do that?” Armin looked at him – his face was a mix of surprise, shock and happiness.  
The brunet boy nodded in answer and hugged him, for the first time, letting his friend cry his feelings out, before he held on to his promise and leaded the boy to the bathroom to heal him.


End file.
